In car accidents, liability often goes along with fault. It determines who will pay for injuries and damages as well as how much. While sometimes it is easy to see who was liable in a crash—like if they blatantly disregarded traffic laws, were speeding, or were under the influence—other times, it’s not always so cut and dry.
Knowing more about liability in Florida can help you understand what to do next after your accident. Contact the attorney and medical referral service of 1-800-Injured to find a lawyer near you.
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Who Has to Pay?
Things can get complicated when the stories of what happened are different. On top of that, insurance companies will look to find a way to limit their liability and obligations to pay out. Still, if a policyholder is covered, there may be other parties to blame besides an at-fault motorist.
For example, the local government could be liable if broken traffic signals or hazardous roadways were not properly remedied. But in Florida, the no-fault system of insurance also complicates matters somewhat.
Simply put, no-fault insurance means an insurance provider will pay regardless of who caused the accident. The coverage is limited to personal injury and property damage, and the payout is limited.
In other words, as a driver in Florida, your no-fault insurance policy will cover you in an accident, whether it was your fault or not. But it gets a little trickier from there.
Florida No-Fault Fine Print
Many people assume that “no-fault” means not guilty, and that they won’t have claims made against them for causing an accident that leads to injuries. Instead, it means that any Florida driver needs to file a claim with their own insurance company, no matter who is at fault.
Personal injury protection—or PIP—covers 80% of medical bills for injuries sustained in an accident. It also covers prescription costs of medication needed from the accident at 80% and lost or reduced income at 60%.
The 10/20/10 Rule
Florida’s rule can best be summed up as 10/20/10. If you have auto insurance and you are injured in a car accident, you will get $10,000 for bodily injury coverage with $20,000 being the maximum per collision and $10,000 to cover property damage.
But like every rule, there are exceptions. The amounts you would receive under PIP seem low. But if you suffer a permanent injury, you can file a claim directly against the driver that was deemed responsible for causing you this injury.
For this, you can speak with personal injury lawyers to access the case and get the deserving compensation for your losses; read this here to understand how attorneys can help. They will have important information such as, for an injury to qualify as permanent, it must create a significant loss of the functionality of your body.
A permanent injury is something that medical experts deem will not go away. Disfigurement and permanent scars fall into this category. The loss of a loved one would also apply.
Wondering what to do with these key concepts about car accident liability? It’s a smart move to speak with an attorney about your options and know where you stand. Read this to begin your search for a car accident lawyer.
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